True Compass, Edward M. Kennedy
True Compass, Edward M. Kennedy
28 Rating(s)
List: $38.99 | Sale: $27.30
Club: $19.49

True Compass
A Memoir

Author: Edward M. Kennedy

Narrator: John Bedford Lloyd

Unabridged: 19 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Twelve

Published: 09/14/2009


Synopsis

In this landmark autobiography, five years in the making, Senator Edward M. Kennedy tells his extraordinary personal story -- of his legendary family, politics, and fifty years at the center of national events.

The youngest of nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, he came of age among siblings from whom much was expected. As a young man, he played a key role in the presidential campaign of his brother John F. Kennedy, recounted here in loving detail. In 1962 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he began a fascinating political education and became a legislator.

In this historic memoir, Ted Kennedy takes us inside his family, re-creating life with his parents and brothers and explaining their profound impact on him. For the first time, he describes his heartbreak and years of struggle in the wake of their deaths. Through it all, he describes his work in the Senate on the major issues of our time -- civil rights, Vietnam, Watergate, the quest for peace in Northern Ireland -- and the cause of his life: improved health care for all Americans, a fight influenced by his own experiences in hospitals.

His life has been marked by tragedy and perseverance, a love of family, and an abiding faith. There have been controversies, too, and Kennedy addresses them with unprecedented candor. At midlife, embattled and uncertain if he would ever fall in love again, he met the woman who changed his life, Victoria Reggie Kennedy. Facing a tough reelection campaign against an aggressive challenger named Mitt Romney, Kennedy found a new voice and began one of the great third acts in American politics, sponsoring major legislation, standing up for liberal principles, and making the pivotal endorsement of Barack Obama for president.

Hundreds of books have been written about the Kennedys. True Compass will endure as the definitive account from a member of America's most heralded family, an inspiring legacy to readers and to history, and a deeply moving story of a life like no other.

Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Mzdivadawn on 2010-01-30 11:16:37

I was never a fan of Ted Kennedy, but after his death, I saw his widow & son on Oprah, and it prompted an interest in the book. I'm glad I changed my mind - it's very informative and interesting.

Goodreads review by Kiessa on September 06, 2012

It is hard for me to put my finger on why I feel the way I do about this book.... I must say that I am fascinated with the Kennedy family - their privilege yet tragedy, their ideals yet human failings, their wealth yet tireless work for their country, their large yet mortal family... After recently r......more

Goodreads review by Jake on January 26, 2010

It was, I believe, the summer of 1992. I was standing outside the stage door of the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington D.C. waiting for actors from the National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera to come out after the show. The stage door opened and a gray-haired man with a preoccupied expressio......more

Goodreads review by Carl on May 08, 2012

True Compass is labeled a “memoir.” I always thought a memoir had a limited scope of time and events, such as Pamuk’s Istanbul, which focuses on his growing up years. True Compass is really an autobiography. A rather eerie experience reading this, knowing it was written with a true, not a figurativ......more

Goodreads review by Julie on October 25, 2009

Although the writing is a bit plodding and pedantic, it's hard to not be intrigued by yet another window into the epic Kennedy family. Kennedy's voice rang sincere and earnest to me. Although written as his life was ending, Ted still spoke like the youngest child- one forever trying to catch up to a......more

Goodreads review by Jim on March 04, 2010

Ted Kennedy grew up the baby of his family, looking up to his energetic and accomplished older brothers. Now, more than four decades after John and Bobby were killed, and at the end of his own life, Ted recounts the story of how he grew up to be the person that he became, a leader and champion in hi......more


Quotes

"In bringing Kennedy's sweeping memoir to life, John Bedford Lloyd conveys an intimacy and sincerity that allows for reverence without idolatry...Bonus features include a video interview, largely a summary of the book's contents, though still priceless from the standpoint of historical posterity. The PDF of photographs offers a rather impressive visual resource spanning the time period of Kennedy's narrative."—Publishers Weekly